GAINESVILLE — Coach Todd Golden’s Gators have been unbeatable at home, but no Florida team for decades had any trouble against Auburn in the O’Connell Center.
Until Saturday.
The Tigers stunned the Gators 76-67 for Auburn’s first win in Gainesville since 1996 and Florida’s first loss at home after 16 straight wins.
“Disappointing,” Golden said. “We’d been playing really well. It starts with me. Anytime you get to a point where you think you got things rolling, you feel like they’re on the right track, you get punched in the mouth.
“That’s what happened today.”
In a rematch from the 2025 Final Four, Auburn was an 11.5-point underdog to the reigning national champion Gators (14-6, 5-2 SEC) riding a five-game winning streak. But the Tigers (13-7, 4-3) quickly silenced a sold-out crowd at the O’Dome behind swarming defense and a 22-point first half by Keyshawn Hall, who transferred from UCF.
Down 43-28 at halftime, the Gators allowed an Auburn 3-pointer to trail by 18 points, the largest deficit Florida has faced all season. Florida rallied behind Thomas Haugh — who finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds — to tie the game at 54-54 with nine minutes to go.
The Gators eventually ran out of gas as the Tigers pulled away.
“That might be the best road game that we’ve ever had as a program,” Tigers first-year head coach Steven Pearl said. “That’s probably the best crowd I’ve seen in this building since I’ve been at Auburn.”
Pearl served the past 10 seasons as an assistant to his father Bruce, who retired in September and handed the reins to his son.
The Pearls and Golden have a long, collegial history, including the 2014-16 seasons when Florida’s coach was a Tigers assistant.
The Gators’ inability to match the Tigers’ intensity did not sit well with Golden. Auburn had a 19-13 first-half advantage against the nation’s top rebounding team while outscoring Florida 36-28 in the paint. Big men Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon combined for just 11 points.
Auburn quickly took a 15-5 lead during the opening four minutes behind 10 points from Hall. The Gators trailed 19-5 after a 12-0 Tigers’ run, ended by a driving layup by point guard Boogie Fland. The basket spurred a 13-2 run, ending on consecutive 3s by Urban Klavzar and Xaivian Lee.
But the Gators could not assume control as Hall came alive again, scoring seven unanswered points to turn a 23-19 lead into a 30-19 advantage. Auburn continued to pull away to establish enough of a cushion to hold off Florida’s inevitable rally.
With the game tied 56-56 after a pair of free throws by Haugh, Auburn had a 6-0 run featuring two baskets by point guard Tahaad Pettiford, the second a driving layup with 4:24 remaining to push the lead to 62-56.
Florida was never closer than four points the rest of the way, and trailed by as many as 10 down the stretch.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
